GPH Day 2: Women Not an Afterthought, But the Crowning Glory of Creation, Says Indian Educator

“Women reflect God’s tenderness, strength, compassion, and life-giving love in a way that is distinct yet complementary to men,” said Dr. Beena Manoj, an Indian educator and spiritual formator, calling on the Church in Asia to honor, safeguard, and collaborate with the feminine genius.

Dr. Manoj led a session on Feminine Genius, Reflecting God’s Love and Life, held at Oregano, Level M of The Light Hotel, Penang, on November 28. The session welcomed over 120 participants, including bishops, priests, and laypeople. Facilitated by Cindy Gorospe, Social Media Coordinator of RVA, the session’s attendance prompted Dr. Beena Manoj to note, “Every time I’ve taken a session on the feminine genius, I’ve had male participants, and that has been such an encouragement for me also and for all the women present.”

The second day of the Great Pilgrimage of Hope (GPH) 2025 featured seven parallel Impact Sessions across various rooms of The Light Hotel.

Dr. Beena Manoj currently serves as Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life at St. Teresa’s College, Kerala. Over 36 years in the classroom, she has guided generations of young women in both spirituality and intellect. Notably, she was the only Indian laywoman invited to the 1998 Asian Synod of Bishops, and she continues to serve internationally as a resource person on women’s vocation and leadership in the Church.

Feminine Genius

Dr. Manoj framed her session around Pope John Paul II’s landmark document Mulieris Dignitatem, which introduced the term “feminine genius” to describe the unique dignity, vocation, and gifts of women. She shared how reading the document decades ago transformed her understanding of herself and her vocation as a woman, a revelation she hopes all women in the Church can experience.

“The feminine genius,” she explained, “is not a slogan but a theological truth. Women reflect God’s tenderness, strength, compassion, and life-giving love in a way that is distinct yet complementary to men. Together, men and women reveal the fullness of God’s image.”

The session, though rooted in theology, was deeply pastoral. Dr. Manoj shared personal stories, biblical insights, and examples from everyday life to show how women’s gifts build families, communities, and the Church. She reminded delegates that women were not created as an afterthought, but as “the crowning expression of creation, equal in dignity, different in gifts, and entrusted with the call to nurture life.”

She emphasized that Jesus Himself understood the hearts of women in ways no one had before and that women stood faithfully at the foot of the Cross when many others fled. Their courage, intuition, and love reveal aspects of God that the world desperately needs today.

The Four Pillars of the Feminine Genius

Dr. Beena Manoj focused on the four key pillars of the feminine genius identified by St. John Paul II: Receptivity, Sensitivity, Generosity, and Maternity. These, she said, are not stereotypes or duties but spiritual and moral gifts given by God for the flourishing of humanity.

1. Receptivity — Letting God’s Life In

Receptivity is not passivity but an active and intelligent openness to God, to others, and to reality. Mary’s fiat at the Annunciation serves as the perfect model: a courageous “yes” spoken in uncertainty yet rooted in trust. In cultures that prize control and domination, receptivity witnesses to a divine love that respects freedom. Practically, it means listening deeply, creating spaces where others feel welcomed, and allowing God to work without forcing outcomes. “Women are biologically capable of receiving life,” Dr. Manoj said, “but spiritually, they are gifted to receive people, to welcome, to hold, to make room.”

2. Sensitivity — Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart

Sensitivity is the intuitive awareness of the unspoken, the needs, wounds, and dignity of others. Women often notice what others overlook: a change in mood, a quiet suffering, a hidden fear. This mirrors God’s words in Exodus: “I have seen the misery of my people; I have heard their cry.” Sensitivity allows women to humanize systems, prioritize relationships, and ensure that no one becomes invisible, bringing healing and compassion to communities and ministries.

3. Generosity — Pouring Out Love Without Counting the Cost

Generosity lies at the heart of the feminine genius. Women naturally place persons before efficiency and offer themselves without calculating benefits. Through quiet service, whether in homes, schools, parishes, women embody the self-emptying love of Christ. Dr. Manoj shared stories of mothers, teachers, and religious sisters whose hidden sacrifices sustain families and communities. This generous love, she said, “builds up not only homes, but the Church itself.”

4. Maternity — Physical and Spiritual Nurturing of Life

Maternity extends beyond biological motherhood. It includes spiritual motherhood, the ability to nurture faith, healing, growth, and belonging. Women create “home” wherever they are: in classrooms, communities, ministries, and workplaces. Maternity is marked by protection, accompaniment, patience, and the ability to form others gently yet firmly. “Every person,” she said, “is someone’s child and God’s beloved; the feminine genius recognizes this instinctively.”

Dr. Beena Manoj concluded by reminding participants that the feminine genius is a powerful force for the Church's work in Asia. When women live these gifts freely, authentically, and joyfully, they become icons of God’s love and agents of healing and hope. She invited men to honor, safeguard, and collaborate with these gifts so that the Church in Asia may reflect the full beauty of God’s design.

The session ended with a prayer to Mary, Mother of Asia, asking for the grace to live the feminine genius in daily life and service.